I had three or four days in France after classes finished and before I was to fly home, so I was trying to decide what to do. Originally I had thought to return to Paris, but that just didn't appeal to me.
Kent suggested that I take a cooking class and found a website - The International Kitchen. I contacted them (Karen in Chicago) and lo and behold, there was a cooking school in a small village just a 100km
from Tours. I arranged to attend starting Friday morning - the chef, Sydney Bond, would pick me up at my apartment in Tours on his way to the market.
So off we went to the market and then the drive to Yzeures-sur-Creuse. I stayed in a simple, but lovely, hotel in this small village and the cooking school itself was just a short drive away in a tiny hamlet where Sydney and his wife, Allison, live with their three children and her mother.
It was exactly what you would hope a cooking school in France would look like - a restored stone house that was hundreds of years old, with a beautiful, modern kitchen and wonderful, warm people guiding your cooking adventure!!
Unbeknownst to me, I was the only student!!!! I had thought that there was a group that I would be joining, but no, it was just me and the two chefs .... yikes!!! I usually like to stay in the background when it comes to cooking courses, but here there was nowhere to hide!!
It was great! I made macarons, risotto, duck, goat cheese souffle, creme brulee tart - all sorts of things!!
Allison & Sydney are extremely nice people, with lots of stories and a vast amount of knowledge about all things culinary. They also took me out to see some of the surrounding countryside, plus took me to a Michelin star restaurant one night, fed me way too much food (but it was soooooo good!!) and made me feel as if I were with friends!
I would highly recommend this to anyone who dreams of taking a cooking course in France....
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